Canada Games revealed need for updated convention centre: officials

Canada Games officials say the February event was a big boost to the Nova Scotia economy – but are sounding the alarm about Halifax’s aging convention centre, too.

Games board chairman Jean Paul Deveau  tells news 95.7 the two-week amateur athletic competition in february was hugely successful, but says it would have been nice to have had a new convention centre to house a number of the events.

“I find that the convention centre that we have right now is not big enough for the types of things that we want to attract in Nova Scotia,” he said. “Certainly there are times when I’ve been to a number of different events where we’re maxed out in terms of space.”

Deveau told regional council on Tuesday the 2011 Canada Games were “record-setting” in terms of economic impact – and social media.

“For a brief moment during the opening ceremonies, the hashtag ‘2011 Canada Games’ was one of the highest-trending sites in the world and the highest one in Canada,” he said.  

The Games generated $130 million in economic revenue, created more than 1100 jobs and left a $200,000 surplus.

“That will go into the Support for Sport Legacy fund, for sport equipment for the development of sport in Nova Scotia in the future,” he said.

Because of the surplus, the board is donating three refrigeration units to the city to help the skating oval become permanent on the Halifax Common.

Games CEO Chris Morrissey says the success of the Canada Games has left the city with an appetite for similar, larger-scale events in Halifax – but he too says that will require a new, larger convention centre.

“If we want to host bigger events, there’s no doubt having more real estate available for us would make it more amicable for hosting larger events, and more events from across the country,” he said.

The city and province are waiting for the federal government to approve its share of funding for a new, larger convention centre proposed for the downtown core.